Ever-Changing Reflection

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding... It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.

~ Kahlil Gibran

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Everyone says Morris looks like a Swiffer, so his costume choice was easy this Halloween! Boyfriend and I are lame and don't have costumes, but the dog is ready to greet all the little ghouls and goblins.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Stay home and watch a great Halloween movie! Real Simple did a Top 10 Halloween movieslist that I thought I'd post. You know, just in case you don't have a costume or kids to go out tomorrow night.

This might be one of my all-time favorite Halloween movies (I also love the Christmas one as well).

For families: From Linus’ unflagging belief in the Great Pumpkin to Charlie Brown’s disappointing rock-filled trick-or-treat bag, the heartfelt animated classic It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is full of good friends, faith, and fun.

For old-movie fans: The Haunting is “one to watch under the blankets with the lights off”. The spooky movie has it all―sinister music, lighting, and special effects―without a drop of blood.

For the squeamish: Take a classic novel, add Gene Wilder and an offcamera horse whinny, and you’ve got director Mel Brooks’ masterfully funny Young Frankenstein. This spoof of Mary Shelley’s famed story about a mechanical monster trades in ghouls for giggles.

For the not-so-squeamish: In Drag Me to Hell, a loan officer turns down an aging gypsy’s application only to face down a dark curse that threatens to steal her soul. There are plenty of jump-out-of-your-seat moments, lots of gore, and a surprising amount of laughs. “Scary movies are rarely this fun” .

For horror-movie buffs: “Some people like their vampires all handsome and sparkly. Me, I like ‘em monstrous and truly frightening.” Well, frightening is what you get withNosferatu, a chilling silent picture from the 1920s adapted from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, about the eerie Count Orlock, who relentlessly preys on victims bite by bite.

For zombie fanatics: Night of the Living Dead was released in 1968, and still holds its own today. “These flesh-eating ghouls are just as terrifying as their modern-day Technicolor counterparts”.

For thrill seekers: Start the night off with Halloween (and not just because it’s named after the holiday). Stacie Ponder, a columnist on AMC’s Horror Hacker blog, highly recommends director John Carpenter’s tale about an escaped masked murderer creeping around the fictional town of Haddonfield. Anxiety-inducing without being gory, the movie “relies more on atmosphere than graphic horror,” she says.

For the adventurous:Reminiscent of the daring Goonies before them, the kids of The Monster Squad attempt to retrieve a magical amulet, fighting off a domination-seeking Dracula and his frightening minions. Great special effects and witty writing have made this flick a cult favorite.

For people who hate scary movies: Written by Stephen King, the five short films in Creepshow are inspired by E.C. Comics from the 1950s and use comic-book conventions such as story panels and exaggerated lighting to dramatize tales of peril. Soaking wet zombies, plant mutations, and a cockroach infestation are “guaranteed to make you laugh as much as they’ll make your skin crawl,” says Ponder.

For cheesie movie lovers: Yes, Halloween III is missing the infamous Michael Myers character, but it’s still worth watching. With a silly plotline involving a small, California town run by a Celtic joke tycoon, business suit-wearing robots, and killer masks (literally), the movie “has all the hallmarks of creepy corniness,” says Ponder.

I regret that I don't have a better post to acknowledge my 100th post -- a blogger milestone for sure. True to the purpose of my blog, though, this post is nothing special, just something random I thought about, found, watched, heard, imagined. That is, after all, why I created this blog: as an outlet. I wanted to note all these life surprises for myself, and I realized that it is wonderful to share them with all of you as well.

I don't have a huge following, nor do I need one, but I love each and every one of you who takes the time of out of your lives to share this blog with me. I hope the next 100 posts will introduce me to many more of you out there!

Thank you for reading, following, commenting, and affirming this crazy little idea of mine.

Ok, onto this 100th post...

My random inspiring thought was: I think I'm getting sucked back into afternoon variety-show TV. I have not watched the likes of these shows since Ricki Lake when I was a pre-teen. Until today, when I found myself strangely attracted to watching the Rachel Ray Show. Then I became intrigued with the Ellen Show.

I have never watched Ellen, although I think she's hysterical. Next I just might indulge in a little Oprah (love her mag, never watched the show).

Talk TV has come a long way since Ricki... and it's much more interesting. Rachel guided me to find a cheap Halloween costume and taught me the perfect Halloween eve recipe (which I really think I might try sometime). Now I'm cracking up at Ellen dressed up as O Magazine (LMAO) and at how dumb blonde Kelly Pickler is (OMG... she just SOUNDS dumb).

There might be something here. Jed is going to freak if he finds Ellen and Oprah and Rachel on the DVR list...

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Last night, I felt like the world was going to end. I was so achy from the day; my back hurt so much, I felt like crying. I was disappointed Jed texted me after 7 p.m. telling me he was working late and eating dinner there. I was on my own. To figure out how to cook when I could barely stand to move.

I told him I didn't want to be alone.

I was alone. Hungry, sore, frustrated and crying in the hallway. For moments I regretted the entire year. I made a mistake. I wanted to go home. I wanted my mom. I wanted someone to take care of me, hug me, tell me I was ok.

Then Mom calls. I'm on the verge of tears and telling her to come pick me up. Before I can let it out, I'm hit by the flood.

"Your dad's back in the hospital." Mineral levels were too high. The doctors think he might be rejecting the new kidney, three months after he got it. Wham. Just when I thought I was getting my dad back, just when I saw glimpses of life going back to "normal." The wave crashes over me.

What happens now? We just wait.

Then another wave. "Your grandmother is in the hospital too." She thought she had a heart attack. Crash. I'm drowning. She's the only grandparent I have left, and though you're never supposed to admit it, my favorite.

Guilt comes with this wave. I hear a quiver in my mother's voice. Here I am wallowing in my own pain and pity, and my family is suffering even more. My mom, who minutes ago I needed to hold me up, needed me to hold her up.

We talked, said our love you's, hung up. I cried. I texted Jed to let him know I wanted to talk to him.

Within 20 minutes, he's through the door. I'm sitting on the couch, my face a stone wall, staring at the TV but not even seeing it. He plays with the dog, changes out of his work clothes, sits on the couch across from me and watches TV. It seems like an eternity before he asks what I wanted to talk about.

I can't help it, the waterfall gushes down my face as I tell him both my dad and grandmother are in the hospital. He asks questions. He asks if I'm ok. He stays up to watch TV with me even though he's exhausted, so I won't be alone. He wouldn't go to bed without me. He let me cuddle. He talked to me long after the lights went out.

I spoke to Mom today, twice. This afternoon, Dad agreed to a biopsy to test whether the kidney is being rejected. He went home tonight, and we'll hear the results tomorrow. Please pray for my daddy that the kidney is ok. Not only for my dad, but for the generosity and thoughtfulness of the family who donated the organ -- that can't go to waste.

My nana is also home; she did not have a heart attack. They do not know what happened, so she has to go back to the hospital overnight for all kinds of tests.

Jed came home early tonight. We talked about our days while making dinner. I'm not alone.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Today was a cool, rainy fall day here in my tiny part of Rhode Island. Since I am still recovering, and sitting at a computer too long makes me sore, I spent a good part of the day sitting on my couch in front of our huge living room windows, just watching the rain drip down them and hit the pavement. Sometimes you need a rainy day to just be. When you're not going anywhere, not doing much and can just listen to the rain.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

While I sit here bobbing my head to the unavoidable Party in the U.S.A. by our dear Miley Cyrus {dripping sarcasm}, I found the most awesome announcement - to me anyway. So, I'm doing a Tune It In Tuesday, like my personal American Idol Brooke at Oofa Luffa Le.

Train's new album, Save Me, San Francisco, came out yesterday! I have been a bit cut off from the current music world, so I had no idea! I heart me some Train! I've seen them live once, and they rocked the stage, as well as my car stereo on cheerful, sunny days! I'm so excited to hear something new from them, I might have to download this album from iTunes ASAP.

Also of interest, this new album from The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Songs from Lonely Avenue, inspired by film noir. These tracks sound intriguing and worth checking out.

There it is, my first Tune It In Tuesday. I'm signing off while swaying to Taylor Swift's Breathe -- much better than Miley!

Yeah, I'm excited, for a couple reasons. Numero uno: I am getting back into the swing of regular posting, and I love it. I have some good stuff lined up, if I am ambitious enough to get it all done.

Numero dos: I won another giveaway! I freaking (like the ghosts!) love Kristen over at While We're Waiting, and her giveaway was so fantastic, I even blogged about it! Now I'm blogging about it again, well, because I won!

As you can see, I couldn't wait to use my new treasures...

This Yankee Candle is "Boo!" and it smells like candy corn! My entire house smells boo-tastic, and I love the witch candle holder!

I also got this fabulous candle, "Beware!" Haven't lit this one yet, so I'm not sure what it smells like, but it looks creep-tastic on my wood stove!

And lastly, I couldn't help sharing the homemade card that came in the box -- although I don't know how Kristen feels about me sharing it. She wasn't too confident in her artwork, but I think it is showcase worthy, and it is sitting on the half-wall divider between my kitchen and living room spreading Halloween cheer to everyone who comes in!

THANKS KRISTEN!!!

So, I have yet to obtain a Halloween costume, even though it is this Saturday, and Jed and I do have a party to attend. Yesterday, I was actually considering skipping it and spending Halloween at home watching scary movies, or hitting up the parents' house, due to the zombie-like stitches in my back and the severe soreness they are causing me (more on that later this week, friends). Today I am feel better, so I'm reconsidering the Halloween party scene.

What are you all being/doing for Halloween? I'm thinking maybe I'll convince Jed to drive me (since I'm not really supposed to drive a lot) to the Halloween store on Saturday and hope to score a last-minute deal on a costume.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

I have had such a long, lazy week, and I haven't been able to catch you all up on my travels, but I will.

Today, I drove back from Long Island, New York on a perfect fall day, and I was awe-struck by the color of the leaves in Connecticut. The fall foliage has blossomed there before it has even begun in my home state of Rhode Island. It was beautiful. I tried to snap some pictures from the car, but a lot of them are a blur of color since we were driving so fast. I'll upload them as soon as I can though.

For now, breathe deeply with this picture taken at a quaint, historic Massachusetts inn three years ago. On another perfect, fall day.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Unfortunately, I don't know how much time I'm going to have to post this week, but I am trying my hardest to check in daily. I really want to catch you all up on last week and my reading, but it will have to wait. *tear*

For now, I wanted to share Jenna's Picks for J.Crew fall. This is what my style is usually all about: elegant meets easygoing. Comfort, low maintenance and versatility are the cornerstones of my fashion, but I also need a classic, elegant look. I love the worn-out jeans with a crisp, fitted button-down and chic scarf. Or a military-inspired twill jacket with trousers. And a basic, 2-inch-heel pump goes with anything and everything. In my opinion. Not that I'm an expert or anything.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Ok, I'm not quite gone yet. I have to get my extra 13 entries for this boo-licious giveaway from the fabulous KS at While We're Waiting! If you have not read her blog, you simply must, on my personal recommendation. This lady truly is amazing, and I'm so inspired reading about her life, her observations and her thoughts. I love it.

So, hurry! Get over there, read, enter the giveaway... before it's too late, and I win! Hahaha!

I have had such a hectic week, friends: working and dealing with personal drama and trying to check off my never-ending to-do list. So, I'm sorry I haven't been posting as much as I would like to, and I'm sorry I haven't been catching up on all your blogs. But, I've been trying, and there is something I'd like to say...

WELCOME TO ALL MY NEW FOLLOWERS!!! I'm so pleased you stopped by and took interest, and I will check out all your blogs too.

Now, for the sad news... I'm taking a bit of a break. Just a week, don't fret. But I need to "unplug," so to speak. Spend time with me. Refresh, re-energize, renew. I need to put quality time into my relationship, and I need to read Pride, Prejudice and Zombies (which I bought yesterday!) for the Page Turners Book Club! I bought four books yesterday, and I'm super excited to start reading again, and to tell you all my thoughts on them!

So, don't be disappointed with my lack of comments, I'm thinking of you! And, don't miss me too much, I'll be back next Friday with lots of good stuff for you!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

I have to say this Wednesday has been nothing short of wonderful. I woke up this morning in a gray-sky morning (kudos if you know that song) with rain pattering outside. I struggled to my computer in a pink cloud of a bathrobe and began working. Shortly thereafter, the blackened sky cracked open and the most magnificent ray of bright sunshine illuminated the street outside my window, in the midst of pouring rain! I love weather days like this.

To make the day even more wonderful, Lilian at Lateral Window bestowed an award on me!

The Best Blog Award rules are:1) To accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have recently discovered and think are great! Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Part one... check!

Part two... lemme go look at the old blog roll to see who my newly discovered bloggy friends are!

I'm going to close this post with a story that I find amusing (in no way is it meant to be cruel). Our adorable Lhasa Apso Morris (he has his own label if you want to see pictures) has been gnawing on his little paws the past couple weeks like it's going out of style. So, I took him to the vet today -- a new vet at that! He was a very good boy, and the vet and all the nurses loved him because he was super laid back and a flirt wagging his tail for everyone.

Turns out, as we thought, our little furry man has allergies! We thought it was something we were feeding him, but no. Vet says Morris has seasonal allergies. I didn't even know dogs could have seasonal allergies! Like his momma (me), Morris seems to sneeze at pollen, dust and mold! LOL... Sorry Morris, but I think that is pretty darn funny.

No worries, my animal-loving friends; he is being treated... with antihistamines! Doggy Benadryl! LMAO! And we have to bath his feet once a week in medicated shampoo to hopefully kill the fungal infection that's developed in his paws from all of the licking.

Ok, what are your hobbies, and what are some you wish you knew how to do?

Ok, now for Part Deux of this post. As I'm sure you all know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this is a topic near and dear to my heart. My great-grandmother died of breast cancer, and my aunt was diagnosed a few years ago and went through a mastectomy. Not to mention the friends and coworkers that either have fought this disease or know someone who has. It is very much in the spotlight, which is great because it can be treated if caught early.

So, some big names in beauty have chose to help the cause by donating a portion of the profits for several items to various breast cancer charities.

For $40, you can score this Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Collection for lips including a glossy balm and rose lipstick. Up to $35,000 of the proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

This gloMarvelous kit includes a shiny gloss and pressed powder compact with bronzer and highlighter (boy do I need that!) for $32. A portion of the proceeds will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

I love a nice, pale pink polish, like this O.P.I. Pink of Hearts 2009 limited edition, on my digits since it's neutral enough to go with everything and light enough not to show small chips, extending the life of your manicure. A portion of your $8.50 purchase will go towards O.P.I.'s donation of $25,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Looking for a new eyes/cheeks compact? Look no further than the Prescriptives Pink Ribbon Palette, for $48.50. The palette includes two pink blushes and four pink/mauve shadows for eyes. It's worth the price when $20,000 from the sale of this product goes toward the Breast Cancer Research Foundation!

And what are you going to use to apply all these lovely pink products? How about Sonia Kashuk's Travel Brush Set ($20) with six makeup brushes of soft, synthetic bristles? Fifteen percent of the price is going towards the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, so why not?

You've got the eyes, the lips, the cheeks, the face and the nails, so don't forget the mascara! This Tarte Lash Hugger Eco-Friendly Natural Mascara ($18) contains rice bran waxes to lengthen and mineral pigments to tint lashes. All of next week (October 12), Beauty.com will donate 10% of your purchase to Cancer and Careers! So, get shopping!

{All Pink Ribbon beauty product images found on Real Simple. All other images, click for source.}

P.S. Thanks to Liz from It's Unbeweavable for becoming my sweet 16th reader! She is such a sweet heart, and I lurv her!

Friday, October 2, 2009

I am so glad it's Friday, and the weekend is here! After a week of being anti-social and hiding in the house (for the reason, read this post), I am going out tonight with these lovely people, who happen to be my best friends...

That is my BFF Ollie, her husband and Jed. We are heading to Good Times Pub, a local joint right down the street we've been meaning to try. Pub food, drinkie drinks and some live music. Couldn't ask for a better Friday night!

Now, for the rest of you, I have my five weekend picks...

Go out and buy...

... so you can join Carrie's book club. I'm hoping I can get my hands on it soon and start reading because I'd love to join in the first month! We all know Pride and Prejudice, a classic, but have you ever imagined it with zombies?!?! How fun!

Visit your local theater to see...

This movie, starring Jennifer Garner, is about a writer who lives in a world where lying doesn't exist. Until, that is, he discovers the little white lie and the huge elephant lie, and he starts... *gasp!*... lying! Sounds like it could be pretty funny, with a good moral attached.

Type...

.com into your browser (or click the image) to find yard sales in your neighborhood. How cool is this??? It uses Google maps and an online database to present you the bargain, outdoor outlets in your area! It's supposed to rain here this weekend, so I don't think I'll find too many, but you might have better luck in your neck of the woods.

Head to the mall...

... and find your Halloween costume. It's right around the corner, folks, and it will sneak up on you like a Jane Austen zombie before you know it! While some may be creative enough to come up with their own amazing costumes at home with mad DIY skills, I will be going to the Halloween store at the mall (or online). Jed and I are thinking of Fred and Wilma Flintstone -- we have two parties to go to Halloween night -- which is what I wanted to do last year. But, I also really like the Woody and Jesse costumes, which we could DIY with some store-bought accessories. {And it would give me a good excuse to run right out and buy my cowboy boots!}

Brave the basement/attic/back of the closet...

... and pull out your warm clothes for this cool weather we've been having! Sweaters, scarves, hats, boots... I need it all, and my cold-weather accessories are all at my parents' house still, along with my wool J.Crew coat! I'll be heading into our basement storage closet this weekend to pull out my winter clothes bins and turning them into summer clothes bins (minus the stuff I'm bringing to Palm Beach!).

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Allow me to tell you the story of two girls who came to be known as Howie and Ollie (aka me and my best friend). Ollie and I met in a twist of fate: we were both assigned to the same freshman year gym class, among other classes as we soon discovered. In said gym class, we were the only two high school girls who still had AA-size boobs (and we knew this because we had to change out of our uniforms and into gym clothes in the locker room before class). Hence, our first similarity was discovered. And we bonded over AA boobs.

Our friendship blossomed that year. In biology class, we made a cell out of cake at Ollie's house, giggling while trying to get the frosting just right. In English class where we would sign to each other across the classroom in order to keep in constant contact. She knew more people than I did since she went to school in the area, so she introduced me into her group of friends. And my identity was born. I had found my family away from home.

Over the years, we did high school girl things. Rolled in laughter on my parents' living room floor watching Charlie Chaplin videos for an English project. Crying over stupid boys who didn't realize what great women we would become (and neither did we). Drooled over pictures of Scott Wolf in teen magazines. Hung out at the movie theater and the mall with our huge group of friends because that's what kids did. She made fun of my frizzy hair (I got a line of her homemade Le Pouf Ease hair care for my birthday one year) and my innocence (another birthday brought a vandalized box of tampons warning of the dangers of ITMS -- I Touch Myself Syndrome). I admired her because she was smart and pretty and had a boyfriend first.

People say college is the best four years of your life because you really solidify your identity and figure yourself out, meet friends you'll have the rest of you life. But, for me, that was high school. They were the best four years of my life, spent with my best friend, who is still my best friend, and always will be. We laughed, we cried, we fought, we apologized, we gossiped and we worked hard to make it into the best colleges we could.

We parted ways four years later: she went to college in Connecticut, me in Boston. But there were phone calls and e-mails and IM messages and packages of silly trinkets and notes and bus rides to visit each other. She was my backbone when I didn't have one. She cheered me up when I was depressed. I made her laugh when she was stressed out over her tough program. I sobbed in a corner the night she almost broke up with the man she married six years later. The distance and lack of high school drama actually brought us closer, and that trend continued after college when neither of us really kept in touch with those friends we were supposed to have made for life over the last four years.

I can't possibly narrate all of the memories, and I'm sure I could go on and on, but I'll let the pictures finish the story. I don't have many from those precious high school years because we didn't have digital photography back then, but here's some and then what happened after then...

Senior prom: Howie and Ollie BFFs

Out last day of high school (Ollie and I are next to each other in the second row, second and third from the left). This was about half of our group, six of whom are still with their senior year sweethearts! And yes, we wore uniforms.

Leaving for our senior cruise on Boston Harbor.

Graduation day! A happy and sad time. Ollie is laying in the front, sneezing (she's known for sneezing up to 23 times consecutively). I am in the back, hugging Pooh-Bear and standing next to Jed!

Many years later... I'm the one in the glasses, she's the one with the cute smile.

St. Patrick's Day 2006: one of the few times I could get her into Boston (she hates cities and crowds).

My 25th birthday pub crawl in Boston, June 2006: this is how we get down, notice the dollar bill in my hand. (Yes, I'm wearing a camo miniskirt, yes.)

Ollie's bachelorette party, July 2006: Ollie giving me a dirty look but being such a good sport playing the entire deck of bachelorette cards we got her. One instructed her to wear her bra over her shirt, and she did walk around the entire bar before going into the bathroom to put it back under her shirt.

Ollie's wedding, August 2006: This is one of my favorite pics of my BFF because it is so her. Drinking a Coke in the limo on the way to the church, leaning so she doesn't accidentally spill any on her dress (I couldn't fit my Tide pen in my tiny purse). That is her brother on the side.

Girls' PVD night out, November 2006: Ollie molesting me at a bus stop, me clinging to the bus sign for dear life.

Girls' Christmas in Boston 2006: We saw Stomp and had dinner in the North End. In front of the Christmas tree in Boston Common (L-R) Tee, Ollie, me (I made the Oofa face back then!)

In da club, May 2007: Ollie, Jed, me (rockin' the Kangol)

Bermuda, October 2008: Sexy, drinking, cigar-smoking ladies on the deck of the Swizzle Inn

Hello Charlie! You called? Howie and Ollie armed and ready.

After living at least a half hour apart for 14 years, Ollie (who isn't really Ollie anymore because her last name changed when she got married) lives a mere five minutes from my new house, just across the Mass/RI line. = ) Our dogs get together for play dates, our men are close friends, and we chat until the wee hours of the morning with a bottle of wine (or martinis) and the SATC DVDs at each other's houses.

A Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop Assignment: How did you meet your best friend?

Nifer =

She comes from Boston
Talks to her family now and then
Through e-mails and postcards
She tries to explain to them
That education and occupation will have to wait for now
She loves the Rasta, reggae rhythms, her dreams have changed somehow...
Her toes dig deep and deeper in the sand
She's seduced by the sunsets and her new life at hand...
She's from Boston (Kenny Chesney)